These Are The Greatest Hair Metal Guitarists Of All Time! ( not your usual list)

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[@RobertBakerGuitar]

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[@garettoverstreet]

ABSOLUTELY

[@TVicc]

Bob, several on that list were inspired by Randy Rhoads! Imho u also forgot to include Carlos Cavazo and Oz Fox...

[@DC7ify]

Vivian Campbell! Dude taught himself and sounded so unique. Young, talented and rocked with one of the greatest bands

[@CNArea51]

Campbell with DIO is a Face Melter... I dont care much about Def Lepard but man, his DIO stuff is my favorite

[@fabioag206]

It was a shame to let Viv, specially in Dio years, out of this list .

[@LetsgoJags]

@@CNArea51well he kicks ass in Leppard and kicked ass wit Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake too.

[@chrisrush9878]

Brad Gillis!! Ronnie Le Tekro! , Cris Oliva, Randy Rhoads , and Neal Schon!!

[@TheCjbowman]

Yeah!! 🤘 The Holy Diver album was pretty mind blowing 🤘😆🤘

[@robeckenrode9646]

Rik Emmitt from Triumph, dude was a killer player as well as unbelievable vocalist!

[@PabloJ1968]

Still is.

[@farshadelmianvari6763]

Triumph is a great band all around. Personally, I liked them more than Rush (Canadian), but is considered a 70's Band. This gentleman was ranking 80's guitar players

[@billyt9987]

Triumph were far from a Hair band. They were just a KickAss band. But, considering they came from the 80's. They get lumped in with the real Hair bands.

[@dropoutandretireearly1781]

AMEN !!!!!

[@dekion261]

@@JD-nq4vb And was still rocking in the 80s. Progressions of Power was released in '80, Allied Forces was released in '81, Never Surrender was relased in '82, Thunder Seven was released in '84, The Sport of Kings was released in '86, Surveillance was released in '87 with a guest spot by Steve Morse on Headed for Nowhere, Edge of Excess was released in '92.

[@shawnnichols6051]

Glad to see Jake E Lee. Criminally underrated and rarely on any list.

[@ColorsFadeGaming]

The only person missing, for me, was Chris DeGarmo from Queensryche. Dude wrote all those classic songs on Operation Mindcrime and Empire, and his soloing was so melodic. He's on my Mt. Rushmore of 80s guitarists.

[@troyjenkins578]

Ahhhh ya beat me to it. I just posted that before reading through the comments.

[@MrCanadianCaber]

HUGE DeGarmo fan!

[@OTCRock4one]

Finally, someone that knows the Greatness of Chris DeGarmo and Queensryche!

[@rev.leonidasw.smiley6300]

Seeing them live was a good, clean, loud fun moshing!

[@michaellindsey3730]

Amen guys. Chris Degarmo was a one of a kind lead guitar player with such a crisp clear sound and you could hear every single word Geoff sang on that operation mindcrime tour. Best sounding theatrical rock show I've ever had the privilege of getting to see.

[@stricknine8623]

Warren DeMartini !!!!! He is the guy that made me get serious 37 years ago and quit "wanting" to play and buckle down. What a swaggering, slippery style with the greatest vibrato and ghost bends of all players of that genre.. In my opinion, he is the leader of all those guys.

[@grumpygrant4537]

hell ya brotha warren is that guy him, yngwie malmsteen, and george lynch r my fave

[@Matt-ck6xx]

Warren’s solo in Nobody Ride’s is great. Awesome phrasing , note groupings , vibrato , tone.

[@puffybuns2311]

Absolutely

[@stricknine8623]

@@Matt-ck6xx Yes ! If you haven't, I would strongly encourage you to listen intently to all of his solos. He has A LOT of solos that fit your description of "Nobody Rides For Free" solo. Try "You're In Trouble" and "Can't Wait On Love" for a good start. If you are a Warren DeMartini fan and veteran of his playing,..my apologies for preaching to the choir.

[@dannyjingu]

A lot of folks overlook how technical the riffs are. Warren is no doubt an amazing soloist, bit what really separates him from the rest, was more bluesy injections to the metal riffs Ratt had.

[@rwdyrory86]

Nobody ever puts Akira Takasaki in these lists. His riffs are something else. Solo's out of this world. Thunder in the east is an album you should check out! You'll for sure put him in a future list.

[@bghammock]

Yup. Always missed. David on Late Night Lessons never forgets him though!

[@Pitti444]

Yes! I came here to write the same thing. Akira is so much overlooked. His stuff is insane! Even today he still delivers.

[@rickschneider3887]

He was a beast for sure!!

[@ellisonlowrimore7751]

I do!

[@itsianwood]

You just got me into him!

[@kurty1927]

Vito Bratto solos put you in this child-like dream state, every time.

[@mikemontgomery5001]

Great list, one of my favorites was Criss Oliva. He was a monster with Savatage.

[@PabloJ1968]

Agree 100%

[@jerseyjeff6896]

Hands down the best!

[@TawmisGreybeard]

Thank the maker. I was HOPING someone was going to mention Criss Oliva. Criss, among the 80s, was so under appreciated. You can listen to Hall of the Mountain King for the raw Criss - and as he progressed from there - he could make a guitar convey emotion.

[@jamesnorthup7717]

Yup, mentioned him in my comment too!! Amazing!

[@Kriegter]

I gotta add in Marty Friedman and Jason Becker. The kind of stuff they play is influenced by everything from indian to Chinese and Japanese music and I can quite certainly say they pioneered the modern shred sound

[@mikehunt8247]

Jason Beckers stuff on David Lee Roth a little ain't enough album was insane. Try to play that drop In the bucket song good luck

[@Styles1125]

True. But i never considered them 'hair metal'... his list is solid.

[@inevitableleopard3810]

Hear hear, Marty Friedman all the way! Dragon's Kiss.

[@Kriegter]

@@Styles1125 they definitely had a hair look in the cacophony era if you look at the pictures

[@toddwilliams8128]

great in their own rights, but couldn't say they were hair metal. minor quibble.... Snake Sabo had a pretty good partner in Scotti Hill, I put them as a hell of a tag team.

[@eric9867]

Jake E Lee and Lynch were the whole reason I wanted to start playing. Love this list!

[@photobeast]

Love this list. Randy Rhoads was definitely one of my favorites as well as Chris DeGarmo from Queensryche. The error with Geoff Tate and Chris DeGarmo... they were sick. Early Queensryche songs like Take hold of the Flame. All the way up to Operation Mindcrime which was genius... Queensryche definitely was one of the best songwriting bands of the 80s

[@michaellindsey3730]

And after the Geoff Tate debauchle, Todd Latore came in and breathed new rock and roll and life back into Queensryche. Geoff Tate and his wife Sharon ruint Queensryche with all the stuff they put out.

[@michaellindsey3730]

All the stuff they put out after promised Land and that is why and when Chris DeGarmo left. Thank you Michael Wilton for stepping up and getting that band back together and rocking out like it never should have stopped doing

[@spunbearing65]

I was looking forward to seeing Randy again in April of 82. Obviously, that didn’t happen. Brad Gillis was absolutely flawless. But I really felt sick, almost guilty at enjoying the show. So I left.

[@ErikEarlJohnson]

The Cult gets overlooked because they defy being put in a particular genre, but IMHO Billy Duffy's playing on Electric, Sonic Temple and Ceremony is peak Hair Metal Guitar God material.

[@chrisloesch5854]

Billy changed guitar forever with She Sells Sanctuary. Very influential but not really Hair Metal IMHO.

[@Mudder1310]

Akira Takasaki of Loudness. Dude shreds, writes killer riffs, and taps with every finger. Check out Thunder in the East.

[@stevegee218]

One of the few to make it though the West music gate keepers and chart on Western Billboard lists from Japan. Loudness even made it on MTV back in the day. People still post Loudness covers on KZbin today. You can't find a Metal/Rock player from Japan who he has not touched. There is a very deep rabbit hole getting into Japanese Metal/Rock with outstanding players, but Akira did break out. 'In the Mirror' is a good early Akira song to look at.

[@mikeg6666]

Great album and guitar tone , I wore that cassette out 🤣

[@cerveshred]

Today I was listening Get Away song....that solo is soo good

[@countzero5150]

Akira Takasaki is a monster player and even Paul Gilbert has said Takasaki was an influence on him.

[@matthewearl9824]

I think he's good but the only thing is, is that I get burnt out on the pinch harmonics on every cord.

[@mitchpalmer5116]

My favorite guitarist from that era was Dave Meniketti from Y&T. He's massively underrated in my opinion. Huge influence on me.

[@MenChooseSlavesObey]

Dave Meniketti was Way ahead of his time.

[@jerryhatrick5860]

That's a fact. There were so many. One band I feel was way overlooked Noone even remembers them. Out of. Canada Kick Axe. Was Listening to it recently paying more. Attention wow

[@markmcgowan2082]

His solos are amazing. The way Meniketti can bend notes is what makes him one of the best. Plus he did not sound like anyone else. The closet would be Gary Moore in sound and style to Meniketti.

[@arthurgonzales4949]

YES!

[@cheezyridr]

spot-on

[@LetsgoJags]

Thank you for including Steve Clark! He gets left out of so many conversations. One of the best riff writers of the 80s and looked so cool while doing it. Most lists only include Phil and Vivian because of their technical abilities. Steve had that feel.

[@colbytaylor9805]

You don't have to get too far into King's X discography to discover that Ty Tabor's soloing chops are so absurdly great

[@xodiaq]

Ty should definitely have been on this list!

[@chrisloesch5854]

Kings X is more of a 90’s band to me.

[@andrewbecker3700]

Obviously there can only be 20, but Vivian Campbell and Brad Gillis were really huge for me because they weren't as much maybe hair metal, just killer all around players.

[@kevingorman4666]

Hilarious, I just replied and started reading comments. The only 2 I put up were Brad and Vivian.

[@thefrogking481]

Vivian was the man!

[@andrewbecker3700]

He still is the man. The Last In Line still tours and performs all the greats.

[@lornesguitarcompany6504]

How do you talk Gillis without Jeff Watson? Major licks and that 8 finger-tapping thing in Rock in America, when most mortals could barley do 3 notes... sick

[@dimebag6384]

Dawn patrol and midnight madness have amazing guitar work brad and Jeff were monster on those records

[@1968Stratocaster]

I would have added Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs. I always thought Scorpions had the best dual guitar sounds and along with amazing licks. The way the scorpions guitarists could play together without stepping on each other is worthy of a shout out. In fact while we are at it, add Uli Jon Roth to the list as well.

[@rolypoly92]

Totally agree!

[@gsdfan8455]

Well said

[@DookyShoes1]

Those guys never seem to get the love they deserve, great call outs

[@goneflying140]

I agree. Blackout is one of my favorite shred fest songs of all time!!

[@andrewbroughton65]

Mathias did all the twin leads on the albums

[@Gee-no]

Jake E Lee was one of my faves. In Ozzy and Badlands. My friends and I waited months for Badlands first album and it didn't disappoint.

[@Iyebor1]

Vito Bratta. His style was so distinctive, that even in my teens a new song would come out on the radio and I could instantly pick it out as a White Lion song with the intro riff. My favorite. I believe he left music for a bit to take care of a sick relative and then he developed some kind of condition that made playing painful for him. Last i heard he was thinking about picking up the guitar again.

[@jehudavis5422]

😅 he was an eddie clone!

[@TheStrykerProject]

I think your list is excellent. For my list, I would have had the boys from Queensryche in there: Michael Wilton and Chris DeGarmo. Those dudes were wizards in the 80's metal scene.

[@JoePacheco]

💯💯

[@travispierson2058]

Wilton and DeGarmo never get any love, but they're amazing. I saw an interview from the 90s with Paul Gilbert where he was asked about his knowledge of contemporary metal. He said he had none outside a handful of Queensryche songs. All his other influences were from the 60s forward to Van Halen.

[@blikketty77]

For 4 and a half albums they were making brilliant riffs and leads.

[@TheStrykerProject]

@@blikketty77 I totally agree. They lost me when they got a taste of the big pop/radio money with Empire.

[@blikketty77]

@@TheStrykerProject yeah I'm always wary of making judgements on art and why they did it, but it feels like having played the songs from mindcrime so much as an opener and a headliner may have caused them to head off in a direction that maybe they would have tempered if they had more time off. It's pretty easy to see a world where empire could have been a big miss or at least a step down in popularity, if knowing what the public will love was easy everyone would do it. I like some of empire and certain songs are a nip or tuck away from being great. But a lot of it didn't age well for me or I heard it so much on radio back then I can go the rest of my life never hearing it again.

[@ivanfernandez4754]

Mark Kendall from Great White. Incredible bluesy guitarist and killer live. Shot in the Dark to Psycho City was a great run of albums.

[@JimbobZ17]

Agree 1,000%. Self titled album is great with street killer , nightmares, no better than hell , etc, etc. Mark don’t get mentioned enough 🤘🏻

[@troyjenkins578]

Oh Hell yeah! Killer player!

[@curmudgeon154]

Just recently been listening to Great White song “House Of Broken Love” Mark Kendall guitar is EPIC. @@JimbobZ17

[@JimbobZ17]

@@curmudgeon154 if you have never listened to psycho city give it a listen. The entire album is fantastic. Since you like house of broken love. You will absolutely enjoy Love is a lie , maybe someday & get on home 🤘🏻Doctor me is one of my favorites on the album.

[@curmudgeon154]

@@JimbobZ17 Right on I will give it a listen, good looking out Bro🤘🏾

[@kimgoldbk3049]

Steve Stevens - man, his solos are wicked. Doesn't matter if it's the Billy Idol stuff, his solo albums, the Vince Neil stuff, or whatever - he's just top tier for me.

[@63Lazarou]

The Atomic Playboys were the ultimate hair metal band!

[@charlestelk6526]

I saw Billy Idol at a multi band festival maybe 15 or even 20 years ago. Not a huge fan then or now. But holy eff did Stevens put on a show. I've seen hundreds of 70's , 80's, 90's and more current bands - pretty much all of the heavy weights but I'd put Steve Stevens at the top of the list considering, playing, riffing and just looking cool.

[@69sjenks]

The Top Gun Anthem as well

[@curmudgeon154]

A few honorable mentions. Rudolf Schenker/ Matthias Jabs: Scorpions. Michael Schenker: UFO. Glenn Tipton/KK Downing: Judas Priest. Frank Hannon: Tesla. So many awesome rock guitarist came out of the 80’s era and rock genre. Great Job Robert👍🏾

[@joachimleinfelder1200]

K.K. and Glenn ❤

[@CLOUD-33]

Priest and Scorps definitely had the prime examples of power duo double lead guitar riff rock gods.

[@Cyberfender1]

All great!

[@Shelby8371]

Rudolf is one of the greatest songwriters on earth period

[@TheBfutgreg]

@@joachimleinfelder1200 Adrian Smith in my top 5 favorites

[@joshwmusic6838]

Thanks for having GEORGE LYNCH! ...my favourite guitar player ever. Apart from Eddie Van Halen but he's just in a completely different tier

[@DeadShred9]

Agree he made me want to be able to play that style of hard rock & metal Dokken were in that Glam period but they weren't good at dressing up glam but their music made up for the Image problem which was ok they got better . But live I watched them Open for Aerosmith and when Aerosmith came out all most half the Audience was gone & they were not a good combo to be touring together ... This was at the Summit in Houston so 20,000 plus Arena .. Just my Opinion but RATT were the best at dressing Glam while serving up a big helping of Hard Rock & Metal ??

[@user-dx4wx9ut5e]

Total respect for George Lynch, except something got lost in his playing after he left dokken..I was disappointed with the Lynch mob

[@johnmcnulty2705]

In the 80's my hands down favorite guitar player was George Lynch. I'm not saying he's the only reason why I liked Dokken, but he is the biggest reason why I liked Dokken.

[@cjlee7918]

Dude is still around. His persona was 100% 80s hair metal.

[@JoePacheco]

Matthias Jabs is a sick player. Very underrated

[@suspicionofdeceit]

Truth

[@angellesambre1]

One of my personal favorites

[@BlackChromeJamTracks]

💯

[@johndef5075]

Saw him live in the 80s a few times. Phenomenal.

[@JoePacheco]

@@johndef5075 for some reason I never went to see the Sorpions. But have always loved his playing and style!

[@markk5174]

Ronnie Le Tekro amazing and underrated. He had killer signature sound when TNT was out there

[@jamesnorthup7717]

Yes! No one knows him but he blew my mind in the '80's!

[@puffybuns2311]

@@jamesnorthup7717 Yeah he is so musical man. The riffs are a treat. Desperate night, Last summer evil, seven seas, caught between the tigers, break the ice and and many more. Just a riff machine such a unique sound.

[@johnmccall2665]

Once again a list without the most critically under rated guitarist of the era . A man taken from us far to early ,Chris Olivia.

[@jamesnorthup7717]

Amen

[@krisnunney8030]

Ronni Le Tekro. I feel he is almost always overlooked by people who should know better. Mad genius.

[@jacelandadventures1523]

I’m about to learn Smooth syncopation by him. Excellent guitarist!!

[@jamesnorthup7717]

One of the best and very unknown!!

[@MusicbyMaggie]

Steve lynch remains one of the most underrated 80's guitar player ✊😭

[@christian-van-e]

vito bratta for me; he was from an other level

[@larrynoe6162]

Do you mean George Lynch as in Dokken and Lynch Mob?

[@Nathan19863]

​@@larrynoe6162he means the dude from Autograph

[@larrynoe6162]

@@Nathan19863 got to be honest, I forgot about him. This is how it starts.

[@Nathan19863]

​@@larrynoe6162i honestly forgot about him too until i saw this 😂

[@joeylyons4549]

Kind of an obscure one. Mark Diglio of the band XYZ. Just huge, crunchy riffs and solos man. Really doesn’t have a big name but man he deserves recognition.

[@jeffmartinaz]

Total beast.

[@axlh.1827]

Especially on the second XYZ album he really shines. Insane solos.

[@dw69376]

The guy I'm going to mention was not a hair metal guy, so I really don't fault you for not mentioning him, but one of my favorites from the 80's has always been Neal Schon. I always loved his playing, his songwriting, his stage presence. He was just the man!

[@mikeg6666]

George Lynch all day long in my book , he was and still is a shredding beast. His work on the Back for the Attack album is unmatched , especially on the song Kiss of death and the haunting riffs on the outro of that song are insane. I still have the same reaction to it as I did the first time it came out!

[@michaelyolch79]

Agreed, bro! I still crank Back for the Attack like it just came out. The lead on Heaven Sent is one of the most epic leads of all time. I need to go see him LIVE!

[@mikeg6666]

@@michaelyolch79 Agree with you and I was lucky to see them live in the 80's a few times. Once they opened for Priest , I can't remember which tour though. Might have been Defenders of the Faith , I think they had some sort of space ship and Rob came up from below the stage and was standing on top of it. Either way Dokken was great live back then and watching George shred in person was sick ....

[@ColorsFadeGaming]

@@mikeg6666I saw them open for Aerosmith. I didn't go to see Aerosmith. George Lynch, Vito Bratta, Warran DeMartini and Chris DeGarmo. My Rushmoore of influences.

[@mikeg6666]

@@ColorsFadeGaming Nice! I wonder if that was the same tour I saw , but Ratt opened for them when they came to my state and like you I wasn't there for Aerosmith. Although I did like a few of their albums from that decade I was heavily into metal at the time....🤘

[@user-dx4wx9ut5e]

Back for the attack is hands down the best album that dokken ever made,and yes, George is a SHRED MONSTER!

[@tallpaul1020]

Great video Robert. You forgot the boys from Queensryche. Mindcrime was an absolute masterpiece. Keep up the great work

[@cheezyridr]

hear in the now frontier is pretty good too

[@TheDesertRat31]

​@cheezyridr totally. When that first came out I didn't like it. It was such a different sound. They were fighting the grunge thing. But, it really grew on me.

[@photobeast]

I actually just made the exact same comment then scrolled up and saw this. Everything Queensryche touched in the 80s was just a masterpiece

[@oldtimer1294]

Yes, I would add Chris DeGarmo to your list.

[@MichaelDBritton]

Came here to say this.

[@Jurgenmeoff]

Kickass list. I think the guys from Queensryche and Stryper deserve a mention as well.

[@jamesnorthup7717]

I mentioned both of them too!

[@chuckp342]

Chris Impellitteri is criminally underrated (and not on the list). It's more "power metal" than hair metal, but rooted in that era.

[@katherinerichburg6974]

I think Chris is one fastest shredders that no one knows. He's pretty awesome, getting older and better than he ever was!

[@chuckp342]

@@katherinerichburg6974 Oh, he's not only insanely fast, but his riffs and composition are top-tier. It saddens me that his band, like a lot of similar bands (e.g. Sykes / Blue Murder), were relegated to play in Japan - never achieving commercial success in the USA.

[@katherinerichburg6974]

Oh definitely, I found Impelliteri (the band) by accident, love their stuff though. Rob Rocks solo stuff is great too if you haven't heard that yet. I think Impelliteri came along a little late for the 80s metal scene but hey, they still made it big in other countries, I'm just glad they're around!

[@chuckp342]

@@katherinerichburg6974 I found them late too. I know of the Rock solo album, but haven't listened to it yet. That said, I did go down a Graham Bonnet rabbit hole (due to Impellitteri) 🤣. Such an amazing vocalist! Yes, I feel you! Back in those days, if it wasn't in a record store, we didn't know about it!

[@katherinerichburg6974]

These days it's all too easy to know too much about everything with the internet and social media! 😂 I think Rob has 4 solo albums now, Graham Bonnet is good too but I prefer Rob's voice. I really like melodic metal, and he's a top notch vocalist in that category in my opinion!

[@krob5375]

Man.. no Jason Becker, that's criminal. Dude has ALS, can only communicate with his eyes and is STILL making amazing music. Triumphant Hearts is a phenomenal album, and is loaded with some amazing shredders, some of whom also did not make this list lol.

[@Mike_D_5150]

If the list was Shredders instead of hair metal, I'm sure he would put him in there.

[@glenncoleman6253]

Lesser known band but Harry K Cody from Shotgun Messiah was an amazing guitar player with definitely his own unique sound.

[@chungaleta1234]

Another one of my heroes who seems to be ignored

[@mincerstephen9137]

Great player.

[@jeffmartinaz]

Kody is a BEAST!

[@bnavdez]

Yes, Harry Kody.

[@andrewhamel8892]

I listen to the "Second Coming" album front to back on a pretty regular basis. Wicked cool riffs and solos IMHO!

[@scottybeckRTR]

Chris De Garmo from Queensryche and Steve Blaze from Lillian Axe both deserve an honorable mention. Great List.

[@goneflying140]

What a great list. I was very surprised that Randy wasn't on there. Crazy Train is a shred fest throughout the entire song, and the solos on Mr Crowley and over the mountain are some of the best guitar work ever. Plus his tone was just amazing!! I would have X'd Mick Mars or Sambora for Randy for sure. Like you, besides the obvious EVH, Warren, Mr. Lynch, Vito, Nuno, Paul Gilbert, Jake E Lee, Sykes, and Reb are my mainstays. I can listen to their stuff over and over and never get tired of it.

[@user-pk4kb8bx9g]

Yep, he should been there. Think Robert eaten to many gummibears.

[@kellya.5203]

Bruce Kulick deserves an honorable mention. He was a red hot bright spot in an otherwise dismal decade for KISS.

[@guskalogeros9021]

Yes 👏!!!

[@ScottMacLeodCompany]

​@@guskalogeros9021He actually let Kiss stay somewhat legit.

[@austinfailz]

He did great stuff on Asylum, which is a great album, and Hot in the Shade, which was a good album that needed some self-editing. 9-10 tracks would've been more than enough. The Crazy Nights album was awful (style, production, etc), but the one thing that was worthwhile on that album is Bruce's lead playing. Everything else on that album can be tossed in the junk drawer.

[@rticle15]

Id like a dismal decade with four gold and three platinum albums. 80s Kiss had some of their best tunes.

[@chrischoir3594]

lol

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Totally awesome! 🤩 I would give Vivian Campbell an honorary mention. His stuff on the Dio records is pretty smokin’… it’s more traditional metal though versus hair, although it crossed into the latter at times.

[@claudevieaul1465]

Listening to this amazing list of top tier shredders, I'm certainly missing one: Ronni Le Tekrø His work with Swedish band TNT is absolutely incredible....

[@matthewmatt5285]

Definitely,.Especially with Snake Sabo on the List~

[@shawndoig4392]

He was from Norway

[@EinarHagen]

Swedish band?!?!??! :o And Norway is the main city of Sweden and you might wanna try to get a refund on your geography education? :s ;) :D (Tekrø was always fab, though, you were right about that part) :)

[@billyguthrie3176]

Vito Bratta was the shiznit. He very much had his own style. Some of his stuff is difficult an some is fairly easy. great timing, great tone, great pitch, and such melodic solo's. What he did for the song radar love was amazing.

[@jehudavis5422]

All he did was try to be evh gimme a freaking break!😅

[@micahnewby3482]

My favorite duo is Michael Sweet and Oz Fox. Big big thanks for including Dann Huff. Those first 2 Giant albums are fantastic!

[@pahema472]

Yeah, the Stryper lads were smokin. Cheers from the land Downundah, mate. \m/ 0_o \m/

[@TheBrettWilson]

​@pahema472 They still are! Chur from NZ cuz!

[@jamesnorthup7717]

Yes sir! Put them in my comment too! Stryper was my band since the yellow and black attack in '84!! Awesome stuff!!

[@micahnewby3482]

@@jamesnorthup7717 I came on board with THWTD and coincidentally my first metal album.

[@micahnewby3482]

@@pahema472 they're still going strong!

[@MichaelSorensen-bl3ec]

Good to see Jake on the list, he was an enormous influence on my playing. Also Vito Bratta, too often he gets overlooked. Would have liked to see Tipton and KK on the list too.

[@sparkystein2556]

CC DeVille is a very underrated guitarist. He didn't care about being great or profound. He was just having fun and loving what he was doing

[@eliascc]

👍👍👍👍⭐

[@pawecaka2065]

Well done, greate list. I think Leatherwolf's Triple Axe Attack is missing (Michael Olivieri, Geoff Gayer, Carey Howe)🤘

[@TribalGuitars]

I don't think a lot of people, fans, or even the in the guitar world, and almost certainly not most Millenials and later, realize or remember that John Sykes was the guy writing and playing for Whitesnake when they went mega-huge. Everybody thinks it was the supergroup version in the videos with Vai and Vandenberg.

[@bangitsmom6855]

Mark Kendall - Great White. Jeff Watson/Brad Gillis - Night Ranger Lynch & DeMartini were amazing. They definitely stood out from the rest of the pack!

[@rickschneider3887]

I read somewhere that Warren Dimartini originally was going to play for Dokken before George Lynch was hired. Juan Croucier of Ratt played bass for Dokken’s first album Breaking the chains then joined Ratt with Warren right afterwards.

[@bangitsmom6855]

@@rickschneider3887 He replaced Lynch for a short while in Dokken. He also played with Whitesnake for a little while, too.

[@DocB_488]

I also think you could add Dave Murray and Adrian Smith. The early to mid-80s Maiden is too this day some of the most influential and well written stuff from that time, and compared to the amazing players you already listed, those guys still play sold out arenas around the world and really kill it live!

[@crudanthony40]

I'm glad someone finally mentioned those two! The best sounding harmonizing duo (trio if you count Martin Birch) out there.

[@Grodd70]

I would totally agree. However, the title was 80"s Hair Metal Guitarist. To me Maiden was more straight metal. If we expanded it to 80's METAL, I would definitely would include Dave Murray and Adrian Smith as well as Judas Priest KK Dowling and Glen Tippon. May be some Slayer Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman. For me 80's Hair Metal , would have to be Lynch and DiMartini and Jake E Lee those 3 just set the tone.

[@chrisloesch5854]

Carlos Cavazo is wildly underrated.

[@rikpardun]

I know he wasn't as main stream popular which is criminal in itself but Ty Tabor of King's X is fantastic. He pulls off everything on the albums live and that is no trivial feat.

[@TheDesertRat31]

Truth. Kings X is killer and sound so big for a trio. I was blown way by dogman.

[@randyroberts4239]

My favorite band. Ever. There was a span of years, 1990 to 1995, that nothing else was played in my truck. 100's of thousands of miles up and down the east coast on the way to motocross races. Really good psych up music!

[@Joseph-xp3hh]

I second the motion!! Ty is no doubt one of the best ..Kings X love them been blessed to see them live a few times .

[@sedgeseymour9208]

100% ... So creative... Passion in his performance as a rhythm player, writer or soloist... Also one of the first pioneering and inspiring drop-D riffers... Massive fan of King's X and his other projects... So overlooked...

[@TheTwilson12345]

Amen he beats ‘em’ all his riffing is more iconic than all their riffs. All the hair metal guitar players are fricken awesome and talented and great but something about Ty tabor was totally different. Innovator taking it to the next level. Everyone else riffs the same! It was the 80s though! Everyone’s a evh technically

[@bernardsoriano3893]

Maybe you can add Scotti Hill alongside Snake because he had some real memorable solos. Others I can think of are Richie Sambora, Vernon Reid and I know he gets a lot of crap but C.C. DeVille is underrated IMO. His style and playing just screams 80's hair metal 🤘

[@tippss3332]

Really? CC. DeVille. Awful guitarist!!!!!!!! Can't believe you even mentioned. For shame!!!!!

[@cheezyridr]

gotta agree. - sorta. vernon and cc should get honorable mentions, even though vernon wasn't a hair metal guy. i met him once, and was so awestruck i didn;t know what to say. hahaha

[@5050guitarman]

I'm 68 and I still luv 80' s music. There is no other for me just the way that music moves me to this day !!!!

[@noposers6110]

Killer post dude, but man... no mention of Vivian Campbell or the duo Frank Hannon and Tommy Skeoch ? I would easily put these guys on your list over the Europe guitarists. With the exception of Lock Up The Wolves, Dio just wasn't the same without Vivian. And Tesla's straight-ahead, guitar-driven hard rock was so refreshing in the 80s. Put on some good headphones and go back and listen to the first four Tesla albums. The guitar dueling between Frank and Tommy on Don't De-Rock Me is simply amazing!

[@RyanMaziarz]

Steve Stevens really deserves to be on here - all the Billy Idol hits, the Top Gun Anthem, etc.

[@D-Coop24]

Agreed!

[@jamesragsdale8202]

He did the Top Gun anthem?

[@D-Coop24]

@@jamesragsdale8202No. that was Harold Faltermeyer. Google.

[@ctbmxbingeandpurge4977]

@@jamesragsdale8202 yes indeed he did.

[@cjlee7918]

Movie and Tv soundtracks. Dude got an Emmy for Top Gun

[@Pitti444]

Great list but you definitely missed Akira Takasaki of Loudness! He is such a great and unique player even to this date. I would love if he gets more attention, he deserves it.

[@AlexK-ew1mo]

Michael Sweet. His skills and musicianship on guitar go unnoticed by many. He's one of the best IMO.

[@jamesnorthup7717]

I'm with ya brother!!

[@rebelfrog3]

And still at it!

[@johnnybasco5860]

the dude holds his own soloing he is often overlooked definately a well rounded musician!

[@shawndoig4392]

Him and Oz Fox are a great duo.

[@phildepriest9890]

yes indeed

[@PabloJ1968]

I liked your list. A lot of other favorites have been mentioned here for which I agree. I would like to add the guys from TESLA: Tommy Skeoch and Frank Hannon.

[@gothicprincess52]

You beat me to it! Tommy Skeoch and Frank Hannon!

[@diffdrmr884]

Man oh man. Can't forget Michael Sweet and Oz Fox. Hooky riffs, awesome solos ( to this day ) AND syncopated! Thanks for the vid. Good stuff !

[@jamesnorthup7717]

I'm with ya brother! Put them on my comment too!!!

[@katherinerichburg6974]

Not all guitar duo's age as well as Micheal and Oz have. Stryper is more awesome now than they ever were!

[@richardwing4070]

Criss Oliva was one of the most underrated guitarplayer

[@louielinguini1]

Great list, but you forgot Dave Meniketti of Y&T, who’s both a killer guitar player AND singer! Dave needs to get more love when people talk about great guitar players of the 80’s. He might just be the most underrated guitarist ever🎸

[@drunkleeddie]

Mark Diglio from XYZ…Inside Out is my favorite 80s song/guitar solo. Face Down in the Gutter is another killer tune. Dude wrote some tasty riffs.

[@guitarbyemily]

I love Bruce Kullick! He brought the 80s flair to KISS and his rhythm playing is awesome!!🤘🎸😊🔥

[@John_Doe657]

Appart from EVH there’s 3 guys that stands out to me from the 80’s: 1. George Lynch - Dokken 2. Warren DeMartini - Ratt 3. Mark Diglio - XYZ Honorable mentions are Vito Brata and Reb Beach with their own unique styles and Bruce Kulick who’s very consistent and a great player. John Sykes is also worthy of mentioning.

[@neilevans6965]

Great comment! Mark Diglio was great! That's exactly what I was thinking (along with increasing respect for Lynch and DeMartini over the years; there's some great Ratt stuff from the late 90s/2000s). And what monster tone Diglio had! If only I could have somehow achieved that tone back then!

[@chungaleta1234]

Mark Diglio, so underrated. It hurts

[@John_Doe657]

@@neilevans6965 Yeah Diglio was great. He was one of those guys with a unique sound and playing style. Unfortunately he didn’t rise to fame as a guitar god like Lynch and DeMartini.

[@John_Doe657]

@@chungaleta1234 Yeah he is.

[@alexjawbone3273]

Marc Diglio, Steve Lynch, Joey Allen, Bill Leverty, Neal Schon, Jeff Labar, Steve Stevens, Chris Risola, Tim Kelly, Kane Roberts, Lanny Cordola, Andy Timmons

[@axlh.1827]

Very few diehard fans know who this guy is, but the guitarist from Vain, Jamie Scott is an absolute beast with amazing technique that is definitely in the lynch/martini category. Vain were more of a glam metal/alternative hybrid bands but still retained great guitar work throughout the 90a

[@joshwmusic6838]

One I would have included is Akira Takasaki from the Japanese hair metal band, LOUDNESS. Extremely underrated! Go listen to Crazy Nights, You Shook Me, Like Hell, Heavy Chains... Very cool riffs and solos

[@solarblue72]

Dave Murray and Adrian Smith....legends, should be in the list.

[@ChrisTian-rm7zm]

While they are awesome players, I would not associate them with Hair Metal. I think they have a more 70s classic hard rock approach.

[@jeff-ds2pr]

Yep. same reason they left KK Downing and Glen Tipton off the list. @@ChrisTian-rm7zm

[@aparise1]

Great video...a few more guitarists I loved from the 80's ...Oz Fox, Carlos Cavazo, Billy Duffy.

[@PRPWR]

I'd like to nominate my man Andy Timmons from danger danger. Beat the bullet is so underrated. Also, Tony Marcus from XYZ. That dude is a monster. Mixing blues, rock and some funky jazz tones. Super underrated imo

[@lcrrg7651]

Adrian Vandenberg en los 80 era un guitarrista demoledor

[@PabloJ1968]

Cierto!

[@JamesMoore-un3cu]

Vandenberg was really more of a 70s than 80s guitarist, but the guy could definitely SHRED with the best of them. He was (I believe) classically trained and had some of the most melodic playing I'd heard. His band was tight as hell as well.

[@matthewpaluch777]

MIA... - Steve Lynch - Steve Stevens - Vivian Campbell - Randy Rhoads - Akira Takaski - Carlos Cavazo

[@jongonzalez6917]

I love this list! Great job!

[@dannyspitzer1267]

+ Vinnie Moore + Robbin Crosby

[@markcatron8996]

I’ve got to go with many others in mentioning Chris Degarmo and Michael Wilton. Another fantastic musician worth mentioning is Criss Oliva. He was very melodic during his time with Savatage.

[@natjes6017]

Very good list, thanks a lot!

[@Wyldwulf]

So glad to see Dann Huff acknowledged here! I am currently learning the solo to "Meet Me Halfway" from Over the Top! :) He was EVERYWHERE in the 80s, and unlike children, heard and not seen.

[@Mattsada]

Killer list! Some personal favourites that rarely gets the recognition they deserve are Pete Lesperance from Harem Scarem, Mark Diglio from XYZ, Chris Risola from Steelheart, Bill Leverty from Firehouse and Andy Timmons from his time with Danger Danger. Amaaaazing players!

[@bykhed01]

Got the course, Robert, looking forward to rocking 80's style!

[@joetate8563]

Awesome list man!

[@tonymazz1721]

Got to give a mention to one of my all time favs - Mark Kendall. Love them blues licks. Also, Ronnie Letekro from TNT, Greg Howe, Brad Gillis, and JJ French. All worthy of a mention 😎

[@sedition4267]

Man, was it a BLAST to be a teen into the early 20s guitar player back in the 80s. What a time to be alive.

[@puffybuns2311]

Other thing about Warren is that he is so locked in the rhythm that the solo just seems a natural progression and after its done just smoothly back into the main riff. It seems very effortless. It sometimes feel he wrote the riffs for the drum parts and not the other way around. His lists of kickass solos are endless. My fav album is the detonator. By that time in the early 90s as this dude mentioned he had already evolved into a whole other beast.❤

[@jasonmitchell9281]

Great list. Love this music. Frankie Hannon is so underrated.

[@user-hn2or3ob8w]

fuknArite

[@BrianSGuitars]

Mick is so underrated IMO, and if you've ever met him like I have he couldn't be nicer if he tried.

[@richardclark.]

WOW Brian! idk you met mick? Thats awesome. i really would like to think of him as different from the rest of the crue. Maybe you could tell us about it on a slow Phil day?

[@jerryvahnknight218]

Steve Clark and Pete Willis were so amazing together, also Phil and Steve, and Phill and Vivian Campbell are as well. The first few with Willis are amazing, and the riffs that Steve Clark wrote were beyond badass. That’s the one thing I miss about newer Leppard songs is that the originality and creative riffs was all Steve!! Steve Clark is massively underrated as well as Pete Willis.

[@BK-lx5mo]

Yes, Steve was such a huge reason I started playing. Such a great songwriter.

[@tcollier5460]

They weren't guitar greats

[@jerryvahnknight218]

@@tcollier5460 Steve Clark, Phil Collen, Vivian Campbell are three greats and that’s just fact. Def Leppard and Dio both have guitar work that is just lexicon.

[@jerryvahnknight218]

@@BK-lx5mo For sure! Me too!

[@MrFuel2burn]

Great video! You nailed some really great players!

[@jasongoad1084]

Great list! I personally think that CC Deville is underrated as a guitarist. But can't argue with any of these choices.

[@gregrush1900]

If you include Sambora, you have to include CC.

[@patrickmoore1068]

I know he's not hair metal, but Rocky George is worth a mention. Killer guitar player that doesn't get enough love.

[@beeemm2578]

Great mention...his solos really stood out in ST. Outstanding player 👏

[@GraphiconOne]

Chris DeGarmo & Michael Wilton of Queensryche...

[@ToddH76]

Yes. They were not in a "Van Halen" band however so I can see why they would not be on the list...They are great players though.

[@markdarrow8646]

Richie Kotzen- he was at the tail end of the 80/s - even basically 90-92, but his solo albums and later on with poison and later on the Winery Dogs- awesome.

[@Mike_D_5150]

Great list! Grew up listening to all of them.

[@DonLytle]

Hey Robert. I'm not going to dog on your list. But I've noticed that Tesla doesn't ever seem to get any attention from the high profile KZbin channels. Beato. Anderton's. I don't really see a lot about them. They wrote some great songs. Frankie and Tommy were (are) my bread and butter. (?)

[@ShredmasterX]

Among all the ones that have already been mentioned in the comments, I want to add Rex Carroll from the Christian metal band Whitecross. I am a child of the 80s but I actually hadn't heard of him until recently. With hindsight his distinct classical approach set him quite apart from most players of that golden era of shred. And he still sticks to that kind of playing which is great.

[@ChrisTian-rm7zm]

I absolutely agree. I saw Whitecross live twice in the 80ies and he is a great player.

[@TheBrettWilson]

Yep. Nagasaki was the Eruption for Christians!

[@deanhostetter5040]

Dude! I was 15 and stood like 3 feet from him when they first started touring at a strip mall church. Was insane. Couldn't hear for 3 days. My biggest take away was talking with him afterwards. He told us kids that if he couldn't play guitar he would have to work at 7-11 or McDonalds. His only skill was guitar. Crazy

[@thall6842]

Fierce Heart debut.

[@TawmisGreybeard]

I'd definitely say Criss Oliva is among the top 20 of 80s metal guitarists. Criss, among the 80s, was so under appreciated. You can listen to Hall of the Mountain King for the raw Criss - and as he progressed from there - he could make a guitar convey emotion.

[@jamesnorthup7717]

Yup, I mentioned him in my comment too!

[@thall6842]

I was going to mention Criss also.

[@TawmisGreybeard]

@@thall6842 Love seeing people remember Criss!

[@michaelprosser8706]

absolutely! His work on Edge of Thorns is just top tier guitar work!

[@robgray4188]

Badass llst bro, many here that are overlooked and you show why they deserve to be here. Love your list

[@ChrisTian-rm7zm]

Great list, with many of my favorite guitarists of the 80s. Personally, I would add Steve Stevens. He perhaps doesn't get the recognition he deserves because he doesn't always show his full potential with Billy Idol. But listen to his solo album Atomic Playboys. An honorable mention also goes to Ozz Fox from Stryper and Rex Caroll from Whitecross.

[@patoshannessy3775]

Yes! Steve Stevens for sure!